Why the Honey Extension Is Called the Biggest Influencer Scam of All Time
Honey, owned by PayPal, is a popular browser extension ( Chrome alone has 19 million users), but the shopping tool has been accused of some very questionable practices, including keeping users away from the lowest prices online and blocking creators’ affiliate links to deprive them of income . The scandal has surfaced thanks to an in-depth video posted by MegaLag , which calls it “the biggest influencer scam of all time” based on an investigation that has apparently been going on for several years. MegaLag says it reviewed numerous documents, emails and online advertisements, as well as spoke with victims during its investigation, and that it personally disagrees with Hani’s methods.
What is the Honey Trap Influencer Scam?
Honey is a browser extension designed to provide you with any relevant discount codes available when you shop online and automatically apply them to the price at checkout, instantly saving you money. The idea is that using the extension means you won’t have to hunt for coupons and codes, and some influencer promotional videos describe it as free money. But Honey seems too good to be true: In tests on several sites, MegaLag was able to manually find working coupon codes when Honey couldn’t find any, or better coupon codes than the ones Honey automatically applied. Moreover, when larger discounts are applied at checkout, Honey does not appear to add these codes to its database.
This is how Honey is said to cut deals with retailers by giving them control over the discount codes that shoppers can access. MegaLag found further evidence in Honey’s own FAQs and in a podcast Honey created that was intended to promote its services to online businesses. In some cases, users are limited in what coupon codes they can use if Honey is installed.
The practice of limiting the coupon codes that users can use obviously doesn’t live up to Honey’s promise to “find the best coupons online” contained on its home page at the time of writing. “If we find working codes, we’ll automatically add the best one to your cart,” says Honey. The extension always finds codes for you sometimes, but not always the best ones.
Expansion also appears to have an impact on income distribution. Honey has been heavily promoted in the past by a long list of online influencers, including MrBeast and Marques Brownlee. According to MegaLag, the Honey extension removes affiliate link cookies from these influencers when people click on products from their videos on YouTube and other sites, meaning influencers don’t get paid for referrals. Instead, Honey will receive his commission. Presumably this happens even if no discounts are applied, and also when users also use the PayPal Rewards cashback scheme: the original affiliate link details are edited and Honey receives the bonus. In one example, Honey intercepts a $35 NordVPN subscription fee, leaving the original affiliate with nothing, and then returns $0.89 of that amount back to the customer as cashback.
In an email to MegaLag, Honey confirmed that this is how the extension works, as Honey ultimately directs the client to the best deal possible, rather than to an influencer. The extension “follows industry rules and practices, including last-click attribution,” PayPal’s Josh Crisco told The Verge . PayPal has not yet commented on its practice of limiting access to coupon codes.
MegaLag promises additional videos soon, so that’s not all, but Honey’s reputation has already taken a serious hit. It seems you’re better off trying to find discount codes yourself.